Tony Johor Kaki Travels for Food · Heritage · Culture · History

Food Explorer Storyteller with 63 million+ reads 📧 johorkaki@gmail.com

Plan your Retirement Early and Retire Happy

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Good old Benjamin Franklin, inventor and US statesman, once said "nothing in this world is certain, except death and taxes".

Well, growing old and retirement are also certain - it's just that retirement could be a dream come true or a nightmare.

The difference lies in having a retirement plan or have not.

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Most people know the need for a plan but when is a good time to start retirement planning?

I say, right away :-D

Because, the parts that make up a good retirement take time to put in place.

The earlier you start, the more time you have to put it all together.

So... how do we start retirement planning?


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As Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People said "Begin with the end in mind".  

Start by asking yourself what kind of retirement do you want? What do you want to do with your time? Volunteering? Vacations? Hobbies? How much money do you need for these activities, and to pay for your living expenses and healthcare?

Now, ask yourself, where are you now in regards to all these needs? What is the distance between where you are now and where you want to be on retirement?

Fortunately, retirement planning is no longer a long shot in the dark. There are lots of helpful online resources and support available free of charge in this website <- click.

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You can also check this web page on Retirement Funds <- click - it has pointers on topping up your CPF, earning more interest on your CPF savings, investing during retirement, unlocking the value of your home etc.

For tips on cash flow during retirement, you can check how to get a monthly allowance for life, with CPF LIFE! <-click

A good retirement is not just about financial security, even though that is a very important part of it.

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On a mission to put every good hawker on the World Wide Web

The next thing to think about is how to remain active in retirement. Personally, service to the community is at the top of my mind - it can be to our immediate family, neighbourhood, groups, society at large or even a global cause :-D  

What can we do with our skills and experience to create value for others?

The sky's the limit :-D

Not working for money doesn't mean that you are unproductive and no longer contributing. It just means that you now have the freedom to choose what to do and where you want to contribute. You call the shots! Not your boss nor your clients. Isn't that awesome? It is, I tell you :-D

For me, I produce stories about good food and hawkers and share it on my blog johorkaki.blogspot.com. The stories connect customers with hawkers - customers know where good food and hawkers are, and hawkers get more customers. Value is created for everyone, everybody is happy and I find this work very meaningful. The blog is also a permanent record of our food heritage as well as the places and people behind it.

Blogging keeps me up-to-date with social media technology and trends. I enjoy the thrill of spotting good food and hawkers. I made many new friends, both hawkers and my blog readers from all ages and walks of life. It keeps my mind engaged - on overdrive actually but the more I immerse myself in this project, the more energy I have.

For you too, the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Here are some ideas on an enriching retirement in this website <- click

Now you have a retirement plan to take you from where you are to where you want to be when you retire.

Congratulations!

You have greatly increased your chances of an awesome retirement :-D

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The auspicious silver stone at Bonifacio Global City, Philippines

But, no plan should be set in stone - no one can predict the future, so our plan must be able to adapt and adjust with the times.  

Go ahead. 

Plan now for a happy and productive retirement! Live your plan forward, live life to the fullest. 

Every day of your life :-D

Share with us your thoughts on retirement :-D

Date: 6 Mar 2016

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.


58 comments:

  1. Ah yes! Thanks for pointing out, Gary :-D

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  2. Syabas Tony ! Keep up the good work ! I have been following your blog practically since day one , it must be coming up to 4 years old now. Surprisingly you have not sufferfrom burnt-out yet :-) I have a home at Taman Tasik, JB but lives mainly in KL and working in Vietnam. Hence, I also follow alot of KL Food Blogs like A Whiff of Lemongrass, Masak-Masak, Precious Peas, Honey Star, A lil Fat Monkey, Babe in the City etc. The above blogs were pretty active 5/6 years ago but most are dormant and defunct now. How will you keep up your enthusiasm and energy for the coming year ?

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    1. I get a shot of energy whenever a beaming hawker felt his/her life's work is appreciated :-D Also, readers' support are like fuel for my passion. As long as I have these, I believe that I can carry on :-D Of course, I have to watch my health too as this work - requires lots of running around - is physically demanding. Thank you for your support :-D PS would love to explore the rich street food culture of Vietnam :-p

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  3. Replies
    1. Thank you :-D What's you thoughts on retirement?

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  4. My golden Years time is very important because I am planning to grow old in style. So retirement plan for me is very important. Since death is certain and I don't know when it will come to me...I still enjoy my life to ensure I don't leave this place with full of regrets!

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    1. Agree :-D Research showed that peoples' last regrets are the things that they wanted to do but didn't. Make the things you want happen, by having a plan :-D

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  5. good idea!remind me to plan it well too!

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    1. Thanks! Use the resources in the links. They're helpful and reliable.

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  6. Great sharing on retirement planning. I believe it's essential to start right away no matter your age to plan on your retirement.

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  7. hihi thank you for the tips. I really need to plan abt it NOW!

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  8. Thanks for sharing the tips. It's hard to plan for retirement as it seems so far away but yes need to start planning and thinking about it!

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    Replies
    1. LOL now is the best time to plan your Happy Retirement :-D

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  9. This is an interesting article for me. Thanks for sharing. I will definitely have to consider to start planning too! :)

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    1. LOL glad to be of help. Check out the links - they are reliable and very helpful. They update and provide new tips regularly.

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  10. its hard to think about retirement when one havent even graduate from university but this article is eye-opening. Thanks for the input, i guess we all have to start planning for our future no matter how young we are.

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    1. Yes, the earlier we start planning the better we can retire. Now is a good time to start :-D All the best for your uni studies!

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  11. i think i should plan for retirement now although i just started working haha :) a good article that makes me rethink about future

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    1. LOL glad that it helped :-D All the best to your career and retirement :-D

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  12. Ahhh retirement seem so far away for me. But ur article make me think to plan well about it. Nice tho :)

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    1. yeah lo.. it looked far for me too when I started work.. but you know.. time really flies.. it is not a joke :-D a few blinks of the eye, that's all from here to there.

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  13. True, to be able to retire young and do what we like is the best. Planning and financial management is very important.

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  14. With the rising cost, I do sometimes wonder, how much does one need to "retire", that is, live on savings alone without additional income. Really, I don't have the answer to that!

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    1. Yes, you need cash flow either from investments or from an annuity plan or both. Either way, a retirement plan will set you on your way to achieving that :-D

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  15. Good article. I think we all should start early and plan for retirement.

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    1. Thank you Shubhada. Yes we can plan early and retire well :-D

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  16. I am a planner, and thanks for your sharing
    all are very knowledgeable and it's a good reminder too

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    1. Thanks Joanne :-D Maybe can share some insights with us :-D

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  17. HAHA> true that. For a happy retirement, planning is a must

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    Replies
    1. yes yes Welcome to the plan early and retire well club :-D

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  18. This post is a really informative post! Although I still haven't plan on my retirement yet =P

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  19. I agree it's super important to plan for your retirement early

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  20. I agree here that with a proper planning and good resources you can retire early and enjoy more time.

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    1. Thank you :-D Wish you a happy retirement at a time of your own choosing.

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  21. Thanks for the tips. I guess I should start planning my retirement from now on.

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    Replies
    1. Yes yes good luck and best wishes to your dream and your fruitful retirement.

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  22. yes, this is how retiree life should be. looking forward to read more interesting stuffs from your blog! :)

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    1. Thanks :-D It is my pleasure. Thank you for following my blog.

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  23. Ok I think it'll have some time before retirement but they day planning earlier is always better. Great to see what you are doing after retirement

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Miriam. Wish you a happy retirement and fruitful planning.

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  24. Yes agree, we should plan early our retirement life so won't kelam-kabut later :)

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    Replies
    1. Agree. The well prepared will always be calm and steady. Wish you a fruitful and wonderful retirement :-D

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  25. I wish to retire early too. Haha... Time to plan for early retirement.

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    Replies
    1. hehehe your wish will come true according to your plan :-D All the best to your happy retirement.

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  26. Never too late to start planning for the future, time for me to do so too

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  27. I would think everyone wants to retire early if they can but actually there is a downfall to retiring early unless you have something to keep yourself busy and occupied as well as get some income.. as money is important, cost of living is constantly on the rise and not doing anything at all will cause you to get a host of a lot of problems like Alzheimers and so on....

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    1. Yes yes agree with that retirement needs planning and a lot of preparation. Only when we have sufficient savings and cash flow can we retire well. So, best to start planning and working the plan as soon as possible or now. Retirement can be active and very involved. I am actually busier now than when I was having a responsible salaried job (before retirement).

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  28. Hi there! This article could not be written much better!

    Looking at this article reminds me of my previous roommate!
    He always kept preaching about this. I will send this article to him.

    Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is an article I wrote on blogging. Hope it is useful. Thank you.

      http://johorkaki.blogspot.com/2014/02/how-to-be-top-blogger-secrets-revealed.html

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  29. Generally I don't read post on blogs, however I would like to say that this write-up very forced me to take a
    look at and do so! Your writing style has been amazed me.
    Thanks, quite nice post.

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  30. Aw, this was an exceptionally nice post. Spending some time and actual effort to generate a really good article...
    but what can I say... I put things off a lot
    and don't manage to get nearly anything done.

    ReplyDelete

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